Completely random stream of thoughts about the software business, from the perspective of an executive.

Friday, March 21, 2014

Creating product evangelists

I've been
spending time recently with sales, education, and other teams talking about new
products.A challenge these teams face
is their distance from the original product design decisions (and the
discussions surrounding them).This can
put them at a disadvantage with customers.Without a deeper appreciation for the design intent, they may struggle
to adapt beyond feature/function.This
can lead to missed opportunities or an overreliance on product development.

Here a two tips
for creating product evangelists from within your teams of colleagues.

Invite other
teams to product design sessions

Members of other
teams bring valuable perspectives.This
alone is a great contribution.Equally
important is the insight they receive to the assumptions, alternatives, and
choices made during the design process.These insights provide knowledge and confidence during future customer
interactions.For example, when a
customer makes a recommendation for an alternative, they might reply,
"Great comment.We considered that
during design and here were our thoughts…"

Teach more than
features

When you interact
with a colleague, take a few moments to go beyond a simple "how-to"
explanation of a feature.After you
explain it, review why the feature exists.What user problem is being solved?How does it make them more efficient? Effective?What alternatives were considered and
rejected? Why were they rejected?

Recognize that
product development has the deepest understanding of the intention for the
product.We literally are with it from
conception to delivery.We must use
every interaction with others to infuse them with the knowledge, hopes, and
aspirations we have for the product.That, in turn, makes the other teams significantly more effective.